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it's 3:39pm a little after 14 hours since I've began. The pork is no where near done, the thickest park of one of the shoulders still reads 150, the other hovering around the low 160s. I've lowered the drip pan to increase airflow and turned them 180 degrees. I'm tempted to increase the temperature to 250. the outside is looking nice and crusty

There's no problem bumping up to 250 after you've been on that long of a hold cycle. I shoot for a steady 225 on a Large BGE. The thing about the Costco butts being boneless is that they are butterflied. How you roll or tie them can dramatically change the cook time. Lately with the Costco butts I've been hitting right around the 14 hour mark and I pull at 185. I season at least a full day ahead. No need for brining etc. Glad they turned out and the BGE is working for you. Always nice to see a fellow Egghead!

Mklee, Indeed but I don't do competition BBQ. I believe they also outlaw flavor enhancers like FAB but people use it all the time.

Flavor enhancers are allowed to the best of my knowledge. The 2012 rules also don't exclude the use of flavor enhancers or even other products like Tender Quick. From my reading of the 2012 rules, as far as seasoning goes, only pre-seasoned meats are not allowed.

Also, if you sous vide a product before smoking to the temp you identified, you'll likely end up with no smoke ring. I know it's mostly a cosmetic thing, but to some people it's important.

I was also thinking back to some of my cooks where I've cooked something initially and then smoked it. I do recall that I had one prime rib that turned out particularly well where I cooked the entire prime rib to rare in the oven, then refrigerated it and then smoked it until I brought it back to temp. (This was also using fruit woods that I now generally shy away from when cooking beef.) It was one of the best prime ribs I probably have ever made (also taking into consideration that it was a from a whole bone in prime rib and USDA Prime). We even had it with a 2000 Pichon Baron. I was surprised that even though I had smoked it with a somewhat strong amount of smoke, it did not have as strong as a smoked flavor as I had expected. If it were more smokey, I would not have enjoyed it as much.

This got me thinking and leads me to this question. For all of you barbecuers out there, have you noticed that if you cook a piece of meat first in a non-smoking manner, and then cook that same meat in a smoker, that it has less smoke flavor than a piece of meat that you've cooked the entire time in a smoker or smoked first, and then finished in an oven (or other non-smoker cooker)?

There is an often quoted 165 degrees of surface temperature that creates a "barrier" to smoke being absorbed into the meat. Of course if you have a smokey, sooty fire it will deposit on the meat continuously, the science is nitrate uptake or something. So yep, cold meat in a low temp BBQ will absorb more smokiness all things being equal.
I like oak or oak& cherry for beef BTW.